10.05.14 — Nice Guys Finish Last — the Acrostic

Leo Durocher

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Sunday, October 5, 2014

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Edited by Will Shortz


This Sunday’s winning acrostic draws a quotation from the autobiography of baseball manager Leo Durocher, Nice Guys Finish Last, Book I: The Good Old Days, The Second Guess—the Great National Pastime



“This is probably the greatest non-fiction baseball book ever written.  Durocher, was, as the back of the book indicates, a key component of several of baseball’s most iconic moments:  the 1927 Yankees, Babe Ruth’s called shot, the Gashouse Gang, Jackie Robinson, The Shot Heard Round the World … Every story he tells is told with character and verve.  Durocher earns the reader’s sympathy while holding himself out as an antihero." ~ own westend, goodreads.com 


The quotation:  MANAGING… IS THE MOST VULNERABLE JOB IN THE WORLD. … IF YOU DON’T WIN, YOU’RE… FIRED.  IF YOU DO WIN, YOU’VE ONLY PUT OFF THE DAY YOU’RE GOING TO BE FIRED.  THE MANAGER … HAS TO CALL IT… NOW.  EVERYBODY ELSE CAN CALL IT AFTER IT’S OVER.

The author’s name and the title of the work:  DUROCHER, “NICE GUYS FINISH LAST”

The defined words:

A. Rock forming Gettysburg’s Devil’s Den, DIABASE
B. Move like “the wave”, UNDULATE
C. L. Frank Baum’s Tik-Tok, for one, ROBOT
D. Step on some toes, OFFEND
E. Teammate of Dizzy Dean or Ozzie Smith, CARDINAL
F. Try to wow a spectating crowd, HOTDOG
G. Word made from parts meaning “true” and “word”, ETYMOLOGY
H. Fan giving vocal support, ROOTER
I. City where the first telephone director was issued (1878) (2 wds.), NEW HAVEN
J. One cause for a substitution, INJURY
K. Trickster of Navajo myth, COYOTE
L. Tommy John surgery site, ELBOW
M. Convention, crowd, assembly, GATHERING
N. Apt to fall for a fast one, UNWARY
O. Pitching legend for whom a yearly pitching award is named, YOUNG
P. Pivot, pirouette, SWIVEL
Q. Thurman Munson’s retired uniform number, FIFTEEN
R. Like the walls of Wrigley Field, IVIED
S. Dancing defector of 1961, NUREYEV
T. Over-the-top fandom, IDOLATRY
U. First name in women’s Grand Slam history, STEFFI
V. Diamond dinger (2 wds.), HOME RUN
W. Grove of Cooperstown, LEFTY
X. Poise when in a pickle, APLOMB
Y. National anthem singer, usually, SOLOIST
Z. Slow-paced exercise routine (2 wds.), TAI CHI

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The complete paragraph of the quotation:  "Managing a ball club is the most vulnerable job in the world.  From the moment you take the job you‘re vulnerable.  If you don‘t win, you‘re going to be fired.  If you do win, you‘ve only put off the day you‘re going to be fired.  And no matter what you do, you‘re going to be second-guessed.  The manager is the only person in the ball park who has to call it right now.  Everybody else can call it after it‘s over." ~ Leo Durocher, “Nice Guys Finish Last,” Book I: The Good Old Days, page 159, The Second Guess—the Great National Pastime  

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